Mercedes A45 AMG versus VW Golf R

There are great B-roads the breadth of Britain. So we’re using the new VW Golf R and Merc A45 AMG to investigate some of them...

B-roads are where we crown our heroes. They’re levellers, roads that punish excessive width and insufficient ground clearance, where too much power is sometimes a bad thing. They reward response and agility, visibility and traction. They are hot-hatch and rally-replica roads, and today they will echo to the sounds of not one of those types, but, well, both. Meet the brand-new VW Golf R. It has a vertical tailgate signalling its membership of the shopping class. It also has the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine de rigueur for any hot hatch worth its pedigree. And it comes with that rallying essential, four-wheel drive.

Lined up next to it is its most direct rival, the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. Ditto on all counts. They’re not created completely equal, of course. The Golf develops 296bhp and 280lb ft all the way from 1,800 to 5,500rpm; the A45 boasts a thunderous 355bhp and 332lb ft available anywhere between 2,250 and 5,000rpm. The Golf is 60kg lighter.